The Build America, Buy America Act was signed into law in 2021 by President Biden as a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The act requires that federal agencies ensure that funds for a federal financial assistance program for infrastructure are obligated only to projects that use iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials that are produced in the United States. Federal agencies are required to include a Buy America preference in the terms and conditions of each award for applicable infrastructure projects.
DRA’s Federal Co-Chairman may waive the application of a Buy America preference under an infrastructure program in any case in which:
- applying the domestic content procurement preference would be inconsistent with the public interest (a “public interest waiver”),
- types of iron, steel, manufactured products, or construction materials are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality (a “nonavailability waiver”),
- the inclusion of iron, steel, manufactured products, or construction materials produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent (an “unreasonable cost waiver”).
Request for Public Comment - BABAA Waivers
The DRA will post notices for a period of 15 days, and encourages public comments on waivers, specifically with regard to the proposed length, purpose, and scope. These comments will inform whether additional changes are needed prior to the issuance of the final notices.
Current Waiver Notice(s)
- No waivers are currently posted.
Waiver Requests Approved
- No waiver requests are currently posted.
